Harads youth center goes digital with Discord
In Harads, the local youth center has taken a new approach to reach more children and young people in the Edefors area. Through a digital youth center on the popular platform Discord, an accessible meeting space is created where young people can participate in the community online. It offers a safe space for those who, for various reasons, are unable to visit the youth center in person.
When the Municipality of Boden received funding for innovative community development projects, the Harads Youth Center chose to go digital. The result was a virtual youth center on Discord – a platform many young people are already familiar with.
"For us, accessibility is a given. We want to reach those who can’t visit us physically. Our goal is to create a place where everyone feels welcome and safe, and where they can socialize in an environment with a trusted adult present – even online," says Felicia Bergqvist, activity leader, who runs the initiative together with EDEK.
A Safe Online Community
On the digital youth center, young people can chat, listen to music together, and laugh at memes from the server’s bots. There are also mini-games like Pokémon, fishing, and trivia quizzes, as well as games like Minecraft and Roblox. When the physical youth center hosts movie nights, the film is streamed live on the Discord server. Language barriers are reduced with the help of a bot that can translate messages on demand. The server is also divided into age-specific channels to further enhance safety and comfort.
An Adult Always Present
Perhaps most importantly, there is always an adult present – even in the digital world. A special channel called “Talk to Felicia” gives youth the opportunity to have private conversations with an adult without being visible to other users on the platform.
"This is a very important channel. Young people can message me about anything – from small things they want to bring to my attention to more serious topics where they need advice, support, or simply someone to talk to," says Felicia.
Support for Young People
To join, each participant must have a short introductory conversation and be approved by the activity leader – a secure way to ensure that unauthorized users are kept out. Parents are also encouraged to use Discord’s family features to stay involved in their children’s digital lives.
"Our goal is to reduce social exclusion, and the digital youth center now creates new opportunities for inclusion, community, participation, and support for young people in Edefors," Felicia concludes.
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Text by: Municipality of Boden
Photo by: Freepik
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